Realistic or Modern Our Life Begining and Always - Twilight Cay

[Redrin]

The salty sea air hit Indie like a train as she opened the car door. It was thick and unfamiliar, curling into her lungs in a way that made her hesitate. Climbing out, she stretched her legs, her green eyes scanning the front yard of her new home. It wasn't that she was unhappy to be here, at least, she didn’t think so. But it was new, and new was uncertain, and uncertain was scary. At her old house, she had known every hiding spot, every friendly neighbor, and exactly where to find the best ice cream in town. Here, she knew nothing. No secret corners, no shortcuts, no familiar faces. She was standing on the edge of something unknown, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to step forward.
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. It felt different in her chest, lighter, maybe. Her dad had talked a lot about altitude and salt air when he explained why they were moving. She hadn’t really understood most of it, but she always trusted him. He wouldn’t have uprooted them unless he believed it was for the best.
"How’s it feel, Indie?" Chase asked as he stepped out of the car. His voice was gentle, but there was something else beneath it, hopefully, but concerned. "Breathing easier?" Indie wasn’t sure. It didn’t feel worse, but she didn’t want to disappoint him. So she put on a bright smile, the kind that stretched a little too far across her face and nodded. Chase smiled back, but his eyes lingered on her for a second longer before he turned to unlock the front door. Indie trailed behind him, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
Everything inside was... white. And gray. Empty and clean in a way that reminded her of a hospital. The walls felt too bare, the floors too smooth. It didn’t look like a home. It didn’t feel like one. Chase must have noticed the way she stiffened because he ruffled her hair and said, “Don’t worry kiddo. It won’t stay like this. Once we get everything in, it’ll feel more like us.” Indie wanted to believe him, but right now, the house just felt wrong.
"Hey, why don’t you go explore a little?" Chase suggested, too casually. "Check out the neighborhood while I start unpacking. The moving truck’s gonna be here soon, and trust me, you do not want to be stuck helping those guys." She knew what he was doing. He wanted her out of the way, but, honestly, staying inside felt unbearable, so she didn’t argue.
Stepping back onto the porch, she took another deep breath, hoping this time she’d feel the difference in the air. Instead, she coughed, hard. A deep, scratchy cough that rattled in her chest. Panic sparked in her ribs. She clamped a hand over her mouth, glancing back at the house. She didn’t want her dad to hear, so she ran.
At first, she just walked quickly, trying to outpace the tightness in her throat, but then her feet started moving faster, carrying her away from the house, from the empty walls and the aching sense of change pressing in on her. Soon, she was sprinting, her legs pumping, her heart pounding. Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them, slipping down her cheeks as the overwhelming reality of everything crashed over her. By the time her legs gave out, she had no idea where she was but, strangely, that didn’t scare her. If anything, it made her feel better. At least being lost was an adventure. Indie wandered for a while, letting the town unfold around her, barely noticing the houses or streets until she stumbled upon a wide, open meadow. Green grass stretched before her, dotted with bursts of wildflowers, and in the distance, she could hear the rhythmic crash of waves against the shore. It was beautiful. Safe.
Indie flopped onto the ground, not caring that her pink shorts were instantly stained with grass. She watched the bees dart between flowers, felt the breeze ruffle her wild mane of ginger hair, and for the first time since arriving, she let herself breathe. But then the sun began to dip toward the horizon. Shadows stretched long across the field, and reality started creeping back in. The house was waiting. The unfamiliar walls, the emptiness, the knowledge that nothing would ever be quite the same. Tears welled up again before she could stop them. She curled in on herself, pressing her face into the grass, trying to block out the feelings that refused to go away.


Meanwhile, Chase had spent the afternoon differently. After directing the movers, he set out to introduce himself to the neighbors. He was hoping for a friendly face or two, maybe a kid Indie’s age. But most of the people in the neighborhood were older, retired, and didn’t seem thrilled about the idea of an energetic eight-year-old living nearby, no matter how much he assured them that Indie was a good kid. He was starting to lose hope until he knocked on the house directly across the street. A family answered, more importantly, they had a son. A boy who was Indie’s age. Chase’s heart lifted, Indie had been so nervous about making new friends. Maybe this was it, maybe this kid would be the one to make the transition easier for her.
However, a new worry crept in. What if the kid wasn’t nice? What if he didn’t want to be friends with Indie? Kids could be mean sometimes. A plan slowly formed in Chase’s mind. He wasn’t above a little strategic intervention. So, instead of going back inside, he plopped down on the curb in front of the neighbor’s house and waited. If this kid was coming home soon, Chase was going to be the first to introduce himself. He was going to make sure Indie had a chance because no matter how much she tried to hide it, he knew she needed a friend.

 

[Quibbles]

Theo had spent his morning dragging his wagon around to various houses. There were many older people here and cooking for one could be a hassle, so several of the neighbors had organized to effectively do a potluck version of meals on wheels. Each of them would get a day to cook and send out food to all the others in exchange for them doing the same on their day. Theo had made a large batch of chicken salad and fresh baked cressants for buns. After preparing them into sandwiches he packed them away in a cooler with ice, and went house to house delivering them. Each of them also got mini lemon pound cake for dessert. While Theo wasn't let in on this fact, the program had a secondary function. Having someone come by to drop off food meant someone checking up on them and decreased the chance that they'd spend days laying on the floor after a fall. The security that someone would be by each day to bring you food, or would be upset when you didn't come by with food, meant that each of them could sleep a little sounder.

After that, he dropped off the cooler at his house and loaded up the wagon with quilts, stuffed animals, and pajamas he had made for Comfort Cases. A local reporter had decided to do a puff piece on it and in the process discovered that Theo made stuff for them, and was himself adopted. It seemed a sweet bit to add to the article. He figured getting a little interview and pictures with the latest load of quilts and stuff would be helpful. Now his wagon was empty again and he could go home. It had been exhausting. Even if he was used to dealing with most of the people there was the physical exertion of walking and the draining experience of talking to people. Most of the neighbors understood he was uncomfortable and just politely took their food and went back inside. He was tolerated largely because he was a quiet kid. He didn't run around and yell. When he showed up outside his house it was for things like this.

As he approached his house he noticed a stranger on the curb. He didn't have the energy to run away, nor much of an idea of where he would run to even if he did. With no other good ideas coming to him, he kept walking towards his home getting closer to the man, but kept glancing at his house. Maybe one of his mothers would come out and protect him, but maybe they were both on calls. He knew to yell if someone tried to snatch him, but he had never had to put it to the test. Wouldn't that be just the cherry on top of the piece? While a kidnapping would typically bump a fluff piece, a kid connected to the fluff piece getting taken might allow it to still run, just in a very differant form.

Those dark thoughts asside, Theo cut an interesting figure. His wagon was collapsable, made of coated steel supports and red fabric with a pull handle. He wore an ionic chiton made of a patterned fabric he had picked up. It had a light blue background and various characters and objects from Disney's Alice in Wonderland on it. It had been easy to make and was easy to put on and take off while still remaining reasonable cool in the summer. A peice of string served as a belt for him and allowed him to pull it up so that it fell at about knee length for him. On his feet were black water shoes as they had sort of become his go to when outside, even when he wasn't on the beach or in the water. His skin was pale, and slightly shiny since they had washed off most of his sunscreen cleaning him up for the camera and he had reapplied it before heading out again. The scent of it still clung to him, but it was better than accidentally getting burned because he neglected to do so.

As he got closer, he kept his eyes down, hoping that maybe the man was just waiting for one of his mothers rather than being here to kidnap him. Or if he was here to kidnap Theo, maybe there would be air conditioning in the van. While the sun was going down, and the wind was lovely, he was not used to be outside this long and miss his nice cool house. He could go lay on the tile in the kitchen or bathroom once he got inside though. That would feel nice.

((OOC: fabric sample below for reference))

 

[Redrin]

As the minutes ticked away, Chase found himself tugging at the loose threads on the hem of his jean shorts. By the time he spotted the kid coming up the road, he had a small pile of them clenched in his fist. He quickly wiped his hands on his legs and sat up straighter. The boy had white hair, strikingly so. Chase had never seen a kid with hair like that before. He looked about the right age, but what was his name again? Something with a "Th"… Theo? Thomas? Chase couldn’t remember, and now the boy was getting closer. Feeling the awkwardness settle in, he forced a smile and lifted a hand in an enthusiastic wave. "Hey, kid! I was hoping you’d be back soon!" His voice came out a little too loud, but at least it carried over the distance.
As the boy got within a few steps, Chase realized he had no real plan for how to do this. What was he supposed to say? ‘Hey, will you be my daughter’s friend?’ That sounded weird. Too weird. His stomach twisted, and he tried to look as non-threatening as possible, not that he knew what that looked like. Then, he spotted the Alice in Wonderland fabric on the kid’s clothes and latched onto it like a lifeline.
"My daughter loves that story," he blurted out, relief washing over him for having something, anything, to say. "We just moved in across the street from you, and she’s the same age as you. Isn’t that funny?" Chase let out a short laugh, but it died in the awkward silence that followed. He cleared his throat. "I’m Chase, by the way, and my daughter is Indie. I was kinda hoping you two would become friends." Another pause. Too long. Panic crept in. Maybe this wasn’t going well. Maybe the kid would just nod and walk away. Maybe Indie would spend the whole summer alone, wandering strange streets with no one to talk to, and—
Before he could stop himself, Chase reached into his pocket and pulled out a $20 bill. He held it out like some kind of offering. "This, uh… might help you guys out." The words tumbled out before he had a chance to rethink them. Oh no. That made it sound like a bribe. Chase rubbed the back of his neck, the heat of embarrassment creeping up his face. This kid definitely thought he was crazy.
He let out a breath and tried again. "Look, I don’t know if you’ve ever been anywhere new, but it’s been hard for her." He glanced around as if Indie might suddenly appear, looking small and lost in all this change. "She’s out exploring somewhere… if you feel like finding her tonight."
That was all he had. He gave a small nod, whether to the kid or himself, he wasn’t sure, and turned back toward the house. As he reached the porch, he flipped on the light, watching the street grow dim under the soft brush of dusk. His stomach churned. Maybe he’d handled that all wrong. Maybe Indie would be alone after all.

 

[Quibbles]

Chase wasn't wrong. Theo did think he was crazy, but at least he wasn't being kidnapped, so that was a good sign. He silently took the money when offered, but looked rather scared the whole time. When Chase left Theo continued home. There was a moment where, if Chase was watching, that he might indeed think the plan had failed, but a short while later, Theo came back out with a duffel bag made out of colorful frog fabric and a flashlight. He had put the 20 dollar bill in his room and gathered together his white rabbit, caterpillar, Alice, and frog footman stuffed animals and put them in the bag, then loaded in water bottles, a sandwich of each of them, and a muffin for each of them. He didn't know much beyond the fact that she was his age, liked Alice in Wonderland, and had been out exploring. That meant that she might be hungry or thirsty, and might enjoy the stuffed animals he had made.

They weren't great. Alice was at least vaguely humanoid and had blonde hair made of yarn and a blue dress, but no eyes or face. The frog footman had a red uniform and a "wig" made of while yarn, a tan underside and bright green upper side. The eyes were a bit too big, but the limbs were nice and thin making it decidedly more frog like. The caterpillar was the easiest, segments of blue plush, stitched into body segments with stubby legs connected to them. The last, or first, segment instead ended in an area of white fabric where he had embroidered a smiley face. None of them looked quite "right" for either the book or any of the films, but one could get the idea of what they were supposed to be. They had been modified from other designs, so he didn't have quite the quality control that he had from designs made and tested by others.

He double checked the draw sting on the duffle bag before putting his arms through the straps to get it on his back and turning on the flashlight. He then began his search for Indie. It took some time, but he eventually made his way to the meadow with the wildflowers and Indie. He made sure to be quiet so as to not disturb her too much and kept his flashlight pointed low. It had a black body and could be pulled apart to reveal a translucent section that would turn it into a lantern for them if they wanted. For now though, he kept it as a flashlight. He wasn't sure what to say, or if he should say anything. Maybe she wanted to be alone and he was intruding. Sure, her dad had asked him to, but that didn't mean she wanted him to. Instead he just stood there nervous and unsure about the next steps. The preparations had made so much sense at home, but he hadn't really considered how to transition into those. Now he was the creepy and awkward one.

((OOC: Attached files for frog fabric and flashlight style.))